Examination of the erosion of the surface of Mars caused by the descent engines of the Viking 1 lander indicates that the soil is stronger and/or denser than the 'lunar nominal' soil (an artificially produced soil with a particle size distribution similar to results for lunar soils obtained by Apollo 11) used in preflight site alteration tests. There is further evidence to suggest that the finer grains are not as small as those of the lunar nominal material, and that the soil under the lander footpads is relatively stiff. The crater, depressions, and ejecta associated with the impact of a latch pin which fell from the surface sampler are consistent with terrestrial soils with very low cohesions, small grain size, and a density of 1.2 to 1.7 g/cu cm.


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    Title :

    Physical properties of the Martian surface from the Viking 1 lander - Preliminary results


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Science ; 193


    Publication date :

    1976-08-27


    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





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